Any last minute tips/advice?

[musicalxheart]

So this coming Sunday my husband and I will be going to pick up our girl. I'm so excited to go get her, and have spend the past month researching as much as I could on the breed. I will be crate training her, and Thursday we will be picking up her crate from the store and buying the rest of what we will need for a puppy.

Now I'm just wanting any last minute tips/advice since this will be our first Husky and I'm wanting to make sure I know as much as possible. Also feel free to give me any advice on what I should bring with me to pick up our pup, it'll be a 30 minute car ride to get her, and then of course 30 minutes back to our house. This will be sort of a post and run for now, since it's getting a bit late here and I'm worn out from the days activities. I will be back on tomorrow though.

Thanks in advance!

[frankmayfield]

Do not expect a dog that will always want to do exactly what you want her to do. They have their own mind, and mine have let me know when they were not pleased with me. On the positive side, expect a sweet, gentle dog as well.

Hopefully, you will find her independence endearing. Both of mine have had wonderful, boisterous personalities that you can't help but love. Good luck.

[mydiamond]

this is about the thing that everyone's afraid of when they bring a puppy home... the whining. How do you deal with the constant whining? O_O first of all, buy a set of earplugs. Next, make sure your puppy's crate is either inside your room or anywhere else that is always visible to you. Please note that your puppy is very, very young and can't hold her bladder for more than 2 hours. Set your alarm clock, wake up every 2-3 hours (including midnights yes) and take her out for potty. Don't forget to praise her for doing her business outside but put the treats aside, a little tummy rub would do. Last but not least: if your girl is whining without any signs of needing to go potty or any other serious matter, put your earplugs on and leave her be. She needs to learn that whining does not equal attention. If she managed to learn that whining = mommy come running, she won't know any other way to gain your attention... Imagine, 15 years of constant whining! Yikes! x_x

that's all about it x) do your best and congratulations

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

a collar and lead, not to walk her you mustnt put her down. but just to hold on to in the car if shes a wriggler

also a blanket. for security, you can also rub it on her mother to get her scent which can help to settle them.

[Rosemary]

The most important advice I got was to start the way you mean to finish. If she will be allowed on the beds or furniture when fully grown, that's fine, but if not, it is best to not let her up/on from the very beginning.

Also, discourage jumping up against you from day one - this is a very difficult one to 'un-teach'.

Teach her to wait for you to go through the door first, then she can follow. I found this very helpful when I need to go out first to check that gates, etc. are closed before letting them out without them knocking me off my feet in their rush to get outside. This might not be relevant to you though.

Also important is to feed at set times, give ten to fifteen minutes to finish eating and remove the bowl. Anything left in the bowl can be fed at the next meal.

Set your parameters before you fetch the puppy, everyone must agree to the rules and abide by them once she is home.

But most importantly, enjoy her, laugh with her, care for her, and you will have a friend for life. Let the fun begin

Edited May 29, 2012 by Rosemary

[musicalxheart]

Thank you to everyone who has responded so far!

I am so excited that the waiting period is almost over, and I'm very happy that I found this site with so many friendly, and helpful Husky owners. I'm not too worried about how much I'll be up and down with our pup, since I've already been through it with our son when he was a baby. I still wake up in the middle of the night sometimes to check on him even though he sleeps through the night in his own room. I'm aware that Huskies are hard-headed and strong-willed, which calls for a massive amount of patience at times, which also isn't much of a worry for me either since I'm already a parent and my son has proven that he is independent and strong-willed just like a Husky it seems. But I'm sure it will still be a bit of a shock at first to see the Husky personality come to life in my own home once we get our girl here. But I'm up to the challenge of the care and training that it takes to achieve a well-balanced Husky.

[innocenti]

hi Megan.. you sound pretty switched on ... keep doing your research .. husky`s can sure try your patience at times ... always keep her on a leash ... cos if they run they RUN !!!!!! a firm NO or OUCH usually stops them in their tracks when they are playing too rough .... the most important thing you need to remember is TAKE YOU CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! folks on here love to see pics ...

[ICE & SHADOW]

So this coming Sunday my husband and I will be going to pick up our girl. I'm so excited to go get her, and have spend the past month researching as much as I could on the breed. I will be crate training her, and Thursday we will be picking up her crate from the store and buying the rest of what we will need for a puppy.

Now I'm just wanting any last minute tips/advice since this will be our first Husky and I'm wanting to make sure I know as much as possible. Also feel free to give me any advice on what I should bring with me to pick up our pup, it'll be a 30 minute car ride to get her, and then of course 30 minutes back to our house. This will be sort of a post and run for now, since it's getting a bit late here and I'm worn out from the days activities. I will be back on tomorrow though.

Thanks in advance!

Don't let her off the leash, even if she does come back and hangs around the yard now, all it takes is that one time.

Don't shave her in the summer.

Exercise is very important, as well as discipline.

They are very good dogs, but require in my opinion, alot alot alot more attention that a standard breed. (Ice is barking at me now because I'm not looking at him)

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions you may have, as you see there are alot of people who will try to answer almost any question!

[musicalxheart]

Thank you to all who have responded!

You all can rest assured that I will not be letting her off the leash at all, unless we're inside the house or unless we're in an area that is properly fenced in and I feel comfortable letting her off the leash. And I will be taking her out for regular exercise, especially since I'm working on losing some weight and need the physical exercise that walking will give me. As she gets older and both of our endurance and strength builds up, I plan to have her be my running buddy (on a leash, of course), so that way we both get in a lot of great exercise.

I still can't believe that it's only a few days away now, and I'm very happy that this community of people have welcomed me so warmly and have given me great, friendly advice! I really do appreciate everyone's input!

[DamirNYK]

With everything said, just remember you are not getting a dog, you are getting a friend, treat her like a friend and she will treat you like one.

[rwprice103]

First off, congratulations! You're in for an adventure! Especially during your first year together, you'll be doing a lot of teaching and training. As others have said, Huskies are smart and hard-headed, so they won't always do what you want them to do. In those moments when your husky misbehaves and you need to correct her, try to avoid being loud and openly angry. Unlike some other dogs, huskies do not simply submit and cower, and displays of anger and aggression often backfire. Instead, remain calm and cool, and slowly get the dog to come to you, where you can calmly but firmly give a correction. I've found that my dog will respond if I'm calm, but yelling does no good whatsoever. Besides, it's good for us to learn not to yell anyway, right? You won't be able to intimidate a husky into obedience--you have to show her that it's worth her trouble! Good luck!